Wilfred Thesiger Quotes

• In the desert I had found a freedom unattainable in civilization; a life unhampered by possessions, since everything that was not a necessity was an encumbrance. I had found too, a comradeship inherent in the circumstances, and the belief that tranquility was to be found there.

  Wilfred Thesiger

  Civilization, Desert, Unattainable

  Wilfred Thesiger (2008). “Arabian Sands”, p.38, Penguin

  20 Copy quote

• For me, exploration was a personal venture. I did not go to the Arabian desert to collect plants nor to make a map; such things were incidental. At heart I knew that to write or even to talk of my travels was to tarnish the achievement. I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice... No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way the more worth while the journey.

  Wilfred Thesiger

  Writing, Heart, Sacrifice

  Wilfred Thesiger (2008). “Arabian Sands”, p.236, Penguin

  19 Copy quote

• The harder the life, the finer the person.

  Wilfred Thesiger

  Life, Harder, Persons

  15 Copy quote

• I knew instinctively that it was the very hardness of life in the desert which drew me back there - it was the same pull which takes men back to the polar ice, to high mountains, and to the sea.

  Wilfred Thesiger

  Men, Ice, Sea

  Wilfred Thesiger (2008). “Arabian Sands”, p.23, Penguin

  11 Copy quote

• Hunger, thirst, heat and cold: I had tasted them in full

  Wilfred Thesiger

  Heat, Cold, Hunger

  Wilfred Thesiger (2008). “Arabian Sands”, p.23, Penguin

  8 Copy quote

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